Winter
by bunnyboo100
Summary: When Akari's mother is taken away from her in a tragic accident she must find a way to move on. But when Akari and her best friend Kagome are thrown into the past will it give Akari what she is looking for? SLOW BURN. Inuyasha/OC
1. Prologue

**I own nothing from the universe of Inuyasha, all characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. The only thing that I claim as my own are my OC's.**

**Hope you Enjoy!**

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Chapter 1

Breath coming out in white puffs, she blinked as the cold air brushed her face. With its cold edge her small cheeks became rosy. She adored the snow, more so when it was falling. Covering the landscape in a familiar icy blanket, a blank canvas that needed to be painted.

"Akari slow down!" a familiar voice shouted from behind her. "The shrine will still be there in ten minutes".The young child stopped running through the snowy wonderland and turned to see the most beautiful person in her life. Her mother smiled gently at her from a short distance away.

"But mama" Akari whined her face scrunching into a little pout. "I want see the shrine now!". Akari giggled a little trying to hold a serious face. The little girl bounced on her toes. Not very well-hidden excitement almost bursting out of her.

"And you will" her mother said slightly out of breath, catching up to take a hold of her daughter's hand. Miyo could see the excitement swimming around Akari's eyes. 'She has so much energy' Miyo thoughts drifted to another time 'She's just like her father…'. She thought of the past and the tall handsome stranger who had won her heart. 'Where did you go my love?'. She wondered as she let her small daughter pull her along. "Look mama!" a little high-pitched voice squealed. "The shrine!". Miyo let go of her thoughts also releasing Akari from her grasp. Looking at the stone steps with distaste she let out a sigh before beginning the climb to the top, a very excited little girl already half way there. Miyo reached the top panting and told Akari that she could go and play in the snow, as long as she stayed within the shrine's grounds. Promising her mother to do just that the young girl sped off towards the spot she found the most beautiful, the sacred tree.

This tree had stood for around a thousand years, proudly and with hardly a blemish onto its bark. The only imperfection that was visible was a scar that seemed to be marked upon the center. 'Why would someone want to harm the tree?' Akari would think when staring at it in wonder. 'What did the tree ever do to them?'. She ran through the shrines grounds noticing how picture perfect everything looked. Shimmering icicles hanging from the red torii gates, everything covered in her beloved thick blanket of snow. When she finally reached the goshinboku, all she did was stare at it in wonder. Akari had always felt a connection to the tree, like she belonged with it and needed to be close to it. A peaceful atmosphere floated around them as she watched the tree glistening in the snow. But suddenly when a light breeze blew past her she could hear a small sniffle. Wondering where it could be coming from Akari wandered around the large trunk until she came across a little girl similar to herself. She was curled up underneath the sacred tree with tears falling down her face. Akari looked at her sadly. She hated when other people were upset, she made a decision. "Hello?" she asked walking closer to the girl, but far enough away that she wouldn't spook her.

"The little girl looked up before saying. "H-Hello" turning her face away from Akari to try and slyly wipe away her tears.

"Why are you crying?" Akari asked gently her face scrunched into a gentle frown not wanting to frighten her she slowly approached and sat down, hoping company would make the girl feel better.

Her vision was clouded with tears but she looked up at her in confusion. 'What does she want? Can't she see I want to be alone. She wouldn't understand' she thought hiding her face in her knees ignoring the girl's question.

"When Akari saw that she wasn't going to receive an answer, she decided to just talk, about anything and everything to try and hopefully make her feel better. She spoke about her love for the winter, how her favorite animals where dogs because of how fluffy and cute they are, and about how her mother was the greatest person in the world.

"What about your dad?" a little voice reached to her. No longer crying the girl was looking up over the top of her knees shyly.

"I-I never knew him" Akari replied sadly looking up at the goshinboku a wistful smile appeared on her face before being replaced with a large grin. "But that doesn't bother me I have mama".

"I'm Kagome" the sniffling girl said, holding out her hand trembling slightly.

"Akari" she replied taking the frail girls hand into her own.


	2. Chapter 1

**I own nothing from the universe of Inuyasha, all characters and worlds belong to their respective owners. The only thing that I claim as my own are my OC's.**

**Hope you Enjoy!**

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I used to love winter. It was the one time of year I felt at peace with myself and the world. Now that is gone and all I can associate it with is pain and death.

Thick chunks of ice forming in places that were invisible to the naked eye. The slow trek to school that morning was painful, with the slippery terrain making it difficult for those of us used to the clean streets of Tokyo. Barely any obstacle in your way, except when reaching the train station with the massive bustle of people all trying to squeeze into a compartment. When we finally stepped foot on the school grounds I let out a sigh of relief as we had just missed the ringing of the tardy bell. I turned and looked behind me, were a certain clumsy friend was being dragged along. She had decided the best way to not fall on her face was to cling to my bag and just allow herself to be pulled to her destination. I smiled slightly when I felt her grip tighten as she slipped not very gracefully on another piece of invisible ice. "Akari can we slow down now? We're through the school gates. There is no need to rush anymore" Kagome pleaded behind me, still with a death grip on my bag.

I pretended to contemplate it for a moment, pausing in my strides as we walked towards the towards her I shouted "Never!" before charging forward, dragging Kagome behind me through the large front doors. She squealed and laughed as she slid along the floor almost tripping when her feet made contact with the welcome mat. "That wasn't funny!" Kagome said through her laughter, which was a lot less hysterical then my own. I followed her as she led me to our lockers, still trying to stop my own laughter in order to regain my senses. The look on her face when I took off was brilliant! By the time I had calmed down Kagome had already changed into her slippers and was beginning to chat with our other friends. Realising I was behind I quickly changed into my own and joined them. As I drew closer I could hear the loud exclamations from two very loud and gossipy girls.

"He definitely has a crush on you Kagome" Yuka said, standing directly in front of Kagome blocking her exit.

"Yeah he totally does Kagome! No guy is that nice unless he is interested in you. Now go and ask him out already!" Eri said. Holding tightly onto her arm while smiling sweetly.

Kagome rolled her eyes."No way guys! We are just friends, and besides I don't see him that way." Kagome screeched. Bright red and seemingly panicking as the boy in question was less than five metres away from them. I watched as my best friend began wildly flailing her arms around in a way to distract and change the topic of conversation. It may seem as though it would be a weird way to change the subject but with Hojo being so close it wasn't much of a surprise.

I smiled fondly as I walked over and stood next to Ayumi. She preferred to stay out of situations like this. She takes the smarter approach of watching the events unfold from a distance. As I could clearly see Kagome's embarrassment quickly turning into anger I decided speaking to Ayumi was probably the safer option. "They're at it again?" I asked her keeping an eye on Kagome, getting ready to step in if she was about to go on a rampage through the school. Ayumi turned to look at me with a relieved expression.

"Yes! Thank goodness you're here. Can you believe that this is the fifth time this week!?" she said sighing and rolling her eyes. Ayumi was a lot more chill and easier to hang out with than Eri and Yuka. With the both of us enjoying the same interests and hobbies, like music and reading. Being on the same sports team also makes it easier to be closer to Ayumi than the other girls who are more into gossiping and shopping. Kagome is closer with them than I was. But apart from our differences we always look out for one another. Even though the friendship with Ayumi was a good one the only person I had ever been close enough with that we are basically sisters is Kagome. People even within school called us as such because we just know each other so well. I smiled at Ayumi and watched along with her as the situation unfolded. I could almost see the steam coming out of Kagome's ears. Just before she completely blew up I decided it was a good idea to announce that class was just about to begin. Kagome glared at me as Eri and Yuka sped away all to quickly along with Ayumi. I just smiled sweetly at her before running to catch up with them. "Akari!" Kagome shouted close to my heels.

By the time lunch came around the earlier animosity between the group was completely eradicated. It was as if nothing had ever happened. This always happened. The conversation with Kagome about boys always resulting into the same thing, a change in conversation. Because of it being too cold outside we all made ourselves comfortable in the classroom, pulling desks together form a wobbly circle. "Hey Akari? What did you get on your English paper?" Yuka asked from across our little circle. I smiled largely as I proudly stated that I got 85%. I was really proud of this score and couldn't believe I got an A. I only just made it into the A groupings. This was the highest I had ever been on the school ranking. 30th may not look that exciting to some people, but to me this was a massive achievement on my part. Sitting down and studying something I wasn't all that interested in is really hard for me. I am more of a learn by doing kind of person anyway. This was why I love sports so much and am almost the only girl on our class to actually look forward to P.E. With probably the exception of Ayumi. With this achievement under my belt the rest of the day passed quickly. 'I cant wait to tell mama about this but i'll have to wait until after tonight hockey match.

The game was advertised as friendly but in reality it is an opportunity for us to learn their techniques and pick out who the best players are. It started well our team gaining the upper hand almost immediately and carrying it on through the first half. As break finally hit a buzz was felt amongst all of the the meeting and water break I slipped away in order to find my mother. Heading towards her favourite spot in the stands I eyed the crowd trying to spot her. I couldn't see her. When I arrived at the stands there was no trace of her. 'That's weird' I thought. 'She has never missed one of my games'. Assuming she was on her way I headed back down to my teammates, looking back every so often to see if she would materialise, but still she was a no show. 'Something's wrong' I thought brow lowering into a frown. I frowned and walked over to them still looking around to see if I could spot her, an uneasy feeling welling up inside of me. Something wasn't right. "Are you okay?" Ayumi asked when I joined the team. Still frowning I nodded before turning my attention to the coach. "Well girls you are doing very well. We just need another shot and the match is ours. Since your captain is currently nursing a fractured toe Akari I want you as the forward." The coach spoke turning towards me with eyebrows raised. I nodded in confirmation but still presented a frown whilst preparing for the second half to start. 'Where is she?' I thought. The match began. There was barely any time to think during this part of the match as it seemed the other team had been holding back their most aggressive players. Ayumi had to be sent off halfway, as she was shoved head first into the goal post giving her a concussion. I sighed slightly when I saw that they were gaining the upper hand. When I had a moment I peaked over to the stand hoping to see my mothers encouraging smile and over enthusiastic waves, but still no one was there. I tried to rationalise where she could be but worry was still seeping its way through and making me distracted. The opposing team scored a last minute shot and it was over. We had lost. I could feel the disappointed stares of the crowd and cold eyes of our coach. As the captain it was up to me to take the fall. . 'The coach was definitely going to call out how I messed up'. I decided that the best way to avoid the chewing out was to make a swift exit. Fleeing the scene quickly and heading to the car park. Which seemed like a good idea at the time, but when I made it to the front I remembered that my mother still was nowhere to be seen 'How am I going to get home' she questioned looking around for the sight of her mums car. "Dammit" I exclaimed. I could feel the worry squeezing at my chest.

"Akari!" A voice shouted. She looked around in confusion. She knows that voice. Down the street she could see a dark figure running toward her frantically "Mrs Higarashi?" She said confused. 'Why is Kagome's Mother here'. The worry Akari had felt previously had now grown and Akari felt herself in a state of panic. 'Somethings wrong, Something is really wrong'.

"Mrs Higurashi!? Where's mama?"

Akari sat in the waiting room. Kagome at her side as they waited for news. 'Mama's going to die, mama's going to die' was all that was floating around Akaris head. The worry that was previously squeezing at her chest was now squeezing at her heart. She was rigid, eyes blown wide and hands shaking with fear.

Kagome watched her friend with watery doctors had told them that her chances were not good. That she wasn't likely to survive the surgery. She never had wanted Akari to have to go through such pain and heartbreak. She remembered how she felt when her own father left her, how Akari was there for her through all of it. Kagome decided then that she will stand by her through her pain as she had done for her. She looked around at all that were gathered. Her mother and grandpa were seated at the other side of the room trying to explain to Sota what was happening. That Auntie Miyo was sick and the doctors were trying to make her better. Footsteps began to approach the door and the room fell silent When the doctor stepped into the waiting room with a solemn expression and a small shake of his head that was when Kagome felt the tears begin to fall. Screams of anguish began to echo through the room. Akari's rigid becoming lax as she crumpled to the floor. Rushing to her side Kagome held her best friend who's heart had shattered. Knowing that such a wonderful person was no longer with them, made Kagome own heart break. Small thuds made Kagome peer at Akari her fist pounding into the concrete floor of the hospital. "SHE CANT LEAVE ME" Akari cried. "SHE CANT. I WANT MY MAMA KAGOME. WHY DID SHE LEAVE ME?!" Kagome held Akari as she sobbed.

The funeral was a few days later. At the Higurashi shrine those close to Miyo and Akari gathered to say farewell to her. Akari as soon as she could escape from the crowded house with lightly passed around condolences, wandered around the shrine. The snow falling made her think of her mother and how all year round they waited for this time of year and the beauty that was shown. Akari finally made it to the place she wished to mourn her mother. The Goshinboku. She stared up at the old tree standing with barely a scratch to its bark. Taking a seat on its roots Akari looked up at the sky. Small flakes of ice fell down and the wonder she once felt at the sight now made her turn away from it with tears in her eyes. Akari lost track of time, protected by the tree but not the cold. "You shouldn't be out here Akari. You will freeze" Kagome stated as she draped a blanket over her shoulders and took a seat beside her despite her words.

"I know." She said.

Kagome looked at her friend and she smiled slightly. "Do you remember when we first met" she asked. " It was right here, under this tree."

Akari watched from the corner of her eye.

"You told me to cheer up and look forward. You became my friend when I wanted none but needed them and stood by me through my father's death." Kagome said softly and fondly, Looking back on the happier memories from when they were children. "That is why now I will stand by you. Forever I will support you and help you. You are my best friend and always will be" Kagome said choking up, trying to hold in her own emotions but failing badly as usual.

"Kagome…I-I thank you." she said the tears spilling down her face.

The girls sat under that goshinboku until it was dark both of them taking comfort in one another's company. Things no longer felt the same. Especially to Akari. The time of year that she used to love spending time with her mama no longer feel welcoming. It feels like a trap that wishes to bring her nothing but pain and suffering

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_I had to change the perspective to Kagome when the news about Kagomes mother came in because I kept crying. (Literally sobbing). Hope you__ enjoyed this chapter! If you can comment ways in which I can Improve I would greatly appreciate it ! Thank you! -bunnyboo100_


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